Phrasal Verbs

Some Nouns/Verbs/Adjectives are used with certain Prepositions as fixed expressions and this combination gives a particular meaning. Some of these have obvious meanings while many of these combinations have a metaphorical meaning. These are called Phrasal Verbs. It is always better to refer to a good dictionary when in doubt about this type of combination; for example :

Women have to be gold to pass off for silver. (Here the meaning is 'to be accepted as'.)

They are involved in this thing. (Here the meaning is obvious.)

Here is a brief list of such words :

Words Attached with 'in' :

absorbed in, accomplished in, buried in, contained in, correct in, deficient in, delight in, efficient in, employed in, experienced in, indulge in, involved in, lost in, take pride in, proficient in, skilled in.

You are correct in saying that that leader is corrupt.

We must take pride in being Indians.

Words Attached with 'after' :

aspire after, hanker after.

He aspires after passing the IAS examination.

Words Attached with 'by' :

abide by, close by.

We should abide by the school rules.

The railway station is just close by.

Words Attached with 'at' :

bark at, charge at, jeer at, laugh at, knock at, look at, mock at, stare at.

You must not laugh at the poor.

What did he stare at?

Words Attached with 'off' :

come off, fall off, pass off, send off.

The peg came off by itself.

The outgoing member was given a memorable send off.

Words Attached with 'on' :

call on, comment on, decide on, deliberate on, depend on, embark on, feed on, impose on, insist on, rely on, resolve on, count on, sit on.

You can call on me in the morning.

We have recently embarked on a new scheme.

Words Attached with 'upon' :

depend upon, jump upon, look down upon, rely upon, set upon, tell upon.

The army set upon the enemy immediately.

The rich must not look down upon the poor.

Words Attached with 'into' :

come into, enquire into, enter into (a bargain), investigate into (a matter), look into.

The two businessmen entered into an agreement.

You must look into the circumstances.

Words Attached with 'from' :

abstain from, debar from, derive from, differ from, differentiate from, escape from, free from, protect from, refrain from.

You must abstain from all types of evils.

Let us free the country from all types of corruption.

Words Attached with 'for' :

affection for, anxious for, apologise for, aspire for, care for, cut out for, designed for, desire for, eager for, eligible for, famous for, feel for, good for, grateful for, hope for, notorious for, need for, proper for, qualified for, ready for, renowned for, send for, sorry for, sufficient for, useful for, wish for.

Do you aspire for the post of the chairman?

I am grateful for this favour.

Words Attached with 'over' :

crow over, run over.

An old man was run over by a bus.

Words Attached with 'with' :

acquainted with, afflicted with, agree with, bear with, busy with, compare with, comply with, contented with, covered with, disagree with, infected with, quarrel with, intimacy with, put up with, satisfied with, share with, side with, touched with.

The country is afflicted with several evils.

Please put up with this situation for a little longer.

Words Attached with 'of' :

(on) account of, accuse of, apprise of, (in/on) behalf of, beware of, (in) case of, cautious of, certainty of, complain of, conscious of, (in) consequence of, consist of, convicted of, deprive of, desirous of, devoid of, (in) favour of, fearful of, afraid of, fond of, greed of, guilty of, (in) lieu of, negligent of, (in) place of, proud of, sick of, sure of, tolerant of, (by) virtue of, weary of, worthy of.

The principal was apprised of the situation.

His statement is devoid of any substance.

Words Attached with 'to' :

accede to, acceptable to, access to, addicted to, adhere to, adjacent to, amenable to, attend to, applicable to, beneficial to, belong to, comparable to, conform to, contrary to, due to, detrimental to, devoted to, due to, equal to, essential to, faithful to, hostile to, fatal to, immaterial to, inclined to, junior to, liable to, limited to, listen to, necessary to, obedient to, offensive to, opposite to, painful to, pertinent to, prior to, profitable to, (with) reference to, related to, resemble to, responsible to, sacred to, similar to, suitable to, true to, yield to.

Will it be acceptable to you?

Listen to all the conditions carefully before you sign.